I was appalled to read about British High Commissioner Bruce Cleghorn and Hungarian Ambassador Tomas Toth staging a walkout when former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was delivering his speech at a human rights conference.

It was unbecoming for senior diplomats like Cleghorn and Toth to show such disrespect to Mahathir, a senior statesman and respected figure worldwide.

For doing so, I am suggesting without the slightest hesitation that the government order Cleghorn and Toth to leave the country immediately.

If one followed Mahathir's speech, one can only agree with him. He had consistently opposed the American and British invasion of Iraq, even while serving as prime minister.

Why didn't Cleghorn or Toth walk out on Mahathir when the latter said the same thing when he was prime minister? Did they lack the courage to do it then?

It becomes more and more evident now that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction as claimed by the US and Britain.

So, was Cleghorn's decision to walk out in the middle of Dr Mahathir's speech an admission of guilt?

Whatever their reasons may be, showing disrespect for Mahathir should not be tolerated by any Malaysian worth his or her salt. I am saddened by the fact that the government, politicians and pressure groups have decided to maintain their silence over the issue.

The Foreign Ministry should have summoned the two diplomats and reprimanded them for their action. It should have been done promptly and spontaneously because the government's views on the invasion of Iraq is the same with Dr Mahathir's.

Having failed to do that, Wisma Putra should now put pressure on Cleghorn and Toth to apologise to Mahathir publicly, or leave. The latter will be a better option as they have inflicted irreversible damage to their reputations as diplomats.